Different Pathways
by Moonraker One
Summary: How would the series be different if two genders had been switched? In this alternate universe, we'll see how Crona and the gang had gone about saving the universe.
1. Chapter 1

Different Pathways  
By Moonraker One

Author's note: What would C.T. have been like of "Crono" had been "Crona," a girl? Would it have been anything like the original? I don't think so. And there's one more gender change…

CHAPTER ONE

"WAKE UP!"

A shout so loud it rattled the windows accidentally inspired a sleeping figure to propel from her bed. Even before knowing what had happened the figure sprung to awareness and desperately whipped her head from left to right in search of what was going on. _Oh, _it hit her, _I'm just oversleeping again._ The mother from whom the bellows-like screech had come, prepared to do it again until her daughter looked at her.

A phony grin did the girl adapt. "Why, good morning, mom," she uttered in a sarcastically cheerful tone. _Good God, _she wondered. _Jina Tekoris, calm mother or drill leader?_ Standing up, she wiped her head free of sleepiness and pulled up one corner of her nightgown as it drooped. She noticed, as an afterthought, that her mom lingered. "Hmm? Need something? Or can I change?"

Jina put her hands on her hips. "Did you forget that the fair's today, Crona?" She sighed. "You probably were so excited you didn't sleep well, did you?" She approached the window, throwing the shutters open with much enthusiasm. "What a beautiful day! Leene's bell sure sparkles in the sun!"

Crona gestured like waving aside dust. "Shoo! Let me get dressed!"

"I'll be downstairs!" Within a minute, she was.

Carefully the girl took her nightgown off over her head of red spiky hair. Examining it in the mirror, it was its usual self. No coming or washing would be required. Reaching in her closet she pulled out a purple pair of panties and a bra. Dressing seemed seldom a chore for her, as her clothes were so plain. She only had two dresses: one for church and one for ceremonies. Neither occasions were today, so she put over her undergarments a moderately tight undershirt, a greenish-blue tunic which criss-crossed over her chest in an X shape before becoming one connected unit by her abdomen, and a whitish mini-skirt. A yellow scarf, a white head band and a pair of waterproof, brown animal hide hiking boots were her final bits of clothing, accessorized by her wooden training bokuto. Prepared for adventure, she descended the staircase.

"Here's some money, dear!" Jina called. When her daughter was close enough for conversation she took the gold coins. "Don't forget your friend wants you to see her…I…oh dear! I seem to have forgotten her name!"

Crona blinked in surprise. "Lucca."

"Oh yeah! That's right, Lucca!" She rolled her eyes, startled by her own lack of memory, and stepped aside.

"I swear, someday you'll forget my name," Crona believed out loud. Before leaving, she checked her hand. "I only see three hundred gold pieces; you said you'd give me five hundred."

Jina took a deep breath and let it go. "See, there I go again!" She fumbled in her pocket for the rest. Producing it allowed her daughter to leave the house. "Have fun, dear!"

Waving goodbye, Crona stepped out into the world. It was a short stroll from her house to the fairgrounds, where she was welcomed by an old man who had been hired to greet people at the gate. She saw booths and tents and fairgoers, which consisted of men, women and children of all ages. She decided to look around and see where everything was before getting down to having fun. Before she went up the stairs she decided to take a look at Melchior's weapons supply.

"Hiya, Melchior!" she yelled. "I've only seen you around here once. You got anything?"

He looked at her left hip, examining her bokuto. "I've got a nice Iron Sword for three hundred gold, and a new Lode Sword for four thousand."

She very nearly choked. "Four _thousand_!" She pulled out her blade. "If I sell you this, will you give me the Iron Sword for less?"

He considered it. "This is a fine bokuto, and…ok, about two hundred gold, then." He took the money from her and handed over the weapon. She examined it with glee. A real sword! She had bought a real blade!

Beaming, she cried, "Thank you very much!" Happily she dashed up the stairs. Unfortunately, she did not notice a figure walking in from the side. Pow! She ran right into him, knocking both down in a frenzy. She noticed a pendant he had on go sailing. "Oww, my head," she muttered.

The man, wearing a white outfit, approached her. "Are you okay, miss?" he kindly asked, helping her to her feet. He looked down. "Oh, crap! I'm missing my pendant!" Nervously he looked around. "I swear I couldn't find water if I fell from a boat!"

Crona looked to her northwest and saw it. Quickly she fetched it and brought it back. "Oh, my," he admitted. "You must think me blind." She shook her head kindly. "Can I have it back?"

She pulled back, sliding it on over her head. "No! Jewelry looks better on girls! Oh hell," she joked, "I don't steal. It's not like I'm some kidnapper or anything." He laughed.

"Ah, you can give it back later. Hey, um, do you want to hang out a bit, miss…?" Hearing her cue she gave her name. "Crona? That's a beautiful name. I'm…I mean, my name's…um…Marle!"

Crona looked at him, slightly suspicious. "Sure you can stick around, but, isn't 'Marle' a girl's name?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah," he laughed. "I expected something more masculine, but 'mar-lay.' Ugh." He smiled. "You have shiny hair! How do you spike it, though? Some kind of gel or liquid?" She shook her head. "BORN that way? Wow." He looked at the second set of stairs. "Lucca and her dad're cookin' up something new. Must be putting the final touches on. Let's go get a soda!" Together they ventured down the right to the stand.

"Two sodas then?" the guy inquired, handing one to each. "Hey, sir? Wanna participate in a soda chugging contest?"

Marle shook his head. "No."

Crona sneered. "I will!" The man told her to drink as many as she could in the time on his stopwatch. Eagerly she yanked a soda from the cooler and chugged it down as quickly as she could, then another. Before the bell rang she'd downed eight in all. After which she emitted a huge belch, to which Marle laughed.

"Competitive girl, ain't you?" he suggested, which brought a mutual laugh.

"Very good! Five silver points!" He gave her a ticket with 'five silver points' emblazoned on it.

She and Marle then headed down to the main area, where they each bet on which racer would win. Marle had less luck with one win, whereas Crona had two. Afterward they went to the top to see Lucca's invention. Lucca noticed her quickly.

"Crona!" she yelled. In response, the spike-haired girl approached her scientist friend. "You came to see my invention!"

"And to pray it works," Crona sarcastically added. She noticed Lucca with a magazine. "Are you reading porn?"

Lucca looked at her strangely. "Are you cracked? These're royal soldiers; noble and all." She grinned. "Boxers and tanktops included. This guy looks good."

Crona examined the page. "Great build, ugly face." She flipped the page. "HE, on the other hand," she stared, "might be good." A mutual grin came to her face. "With some cherries and whipped cream."

"And MY mind is in the gutter, isn't it?" She patted Crona on the shoulder. "Hey, I'm thinking about a kiss and you're thinking about…"

"KEEP it child-safe with the language, Lucca," she retorted. Deeper she looked. "You think he'd like a large wedding?" she joked. "Shall we arm wrestle over him? Swords? Pistols at dawn?"

"How's the machine?" Marle entered, breaking up the conversation.

Lucca looked at him. "Now, Crona, where'd you pick up a hottie like him?" She focused. "Oh, the Telepod! No one wants to try it!" Marle stepped up.

"Behold as this strapping young gentleman steps up to try it out!" Taban announced. Once on the platform, Lucca and he began to activate the machine. The electricity built rapidly within the lines until, at the peak of charge, all of Marle's atoms separated and, as one unit of energy, traveled faster than light up through the device's transmitting antenna and into the other's, where he was rebuilt instantly on the platform of the other pod. Excited he stepped down.

"That was simply amazing! Crona, why don't you try it?"

Giddily skipping towards the machine, Crona practically leapt onto the platform. "This'll be awesome! Lucca, you actually built something exciting!" She waited anticipatingly as Taban and his daughter fed electricity into the electric lines as before. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary as the charge increased at exactly the same rate as it had been doing so. However, a second later, a bizarre glow seemed to emanate from the center of Marle's pendant on Crona. In the space of a "what the…," she found her entire body, as one unit of energy, yanked from where she stood and thrown into a circular portal. Her startled onlookers looked to be frozen afterimages to her as the portal pulled her through into a multi-lighted stream which seemed to extend infinitely in all directions. Her trip had an abrupt ending, though, as her journey spat her out a similar portal into an almost idyllic setting. Looking around she saw a clearing high on a mountain with people searching the area for something. _Where the hell am I_? she thought to herself. Her question had been on target, it seemed a moment later.

"You!" A man shouted, taking immediate notice of her. Like moths drawn to a flame, all ten approached. They stood a few feet from her, out of sheer suspicion. The one who'd seen her turned to his fellow knights. "I saw 'er pop out of a blue hole in midair!"

A grand armored knight stood exactly in between two of his subordinates. "You must be a servant of the evil sorcerer Magus. I must admit, being able to move in and out of portals may be a huge advantage for his forces. So tell us what you know and surrender, and we will be as merciful as the king's law allows us to be towards our enemies," he instructed her.

Crona shook her head; this had to be a nightmare. Unfortunately, closing and reopening her eyes revealed that it had not been. "Uh, um," she stammered, frightened. Sweat began to drip off her forehead. Only one minute had she been here and already she found herself in trouble. "Please, there…must be a misunderstanding!"

The knight captain raised an eyebrow. _Cowardly, in trouble, just like all of Magus's minions,_ he saw. Nevertheless, he cleared his throat. "You will be treated as the enemy you are, unless your defection is immediate and absolute."

"I…I've never heard of a 'Magus' before!" she argued. "Really! I don't lie!"

One knight did not hesitate to prosecute. "I swear, my captain!" he fired back. "She popped out of midair through a hole!"

A comrade of his approached with a lustful look in his eye. "I can see she's a girl, captain!" He reached for her chest. "I can see tits on 'er…" The dinstinct echo of skin meeting skin resounded as she slapped him so hard a tooth went flying out. Angrily, and before his superior could demand otherwise, he unsheathed his blade and swung for her head. Instinct kicked in as she yanked out her own katana and parried the attack perfectly. The next move happened hastily. In an eyeblink's time, he jousted for her midsection, while she spun clockwise and moved to his right so that she moved in sync with him. His blow sailed right past her while she came to a stop with the sharp end of her sword a millimeter from the back of his neck.

_Hmm,_ the knight captain noted, having seen the exchange. _She sword fights with far too much skill to be a Magus minion, or at least any that I've seen._ A dripping was heard.

"You pissed yourself," a knight saw, reminding his beaten comrade. Crona sheathed her weapon as he resumed his position.

"Thank ye, I would not have known," the beaten knight sarcastically retorted.

"All right, miss," the captain announced. "We're sorry for doubting you. We just need to be cautious in this time of war." He blinked a few times. "Where did you learn to sword fight like that?"

She looked at him while they headed back to the palace. "From one of the sword fighting classes in the castle."

He instantly became suspicious. "Only knights are allowed sword lessons in the castle." He looked at her with prying eyes. "And if anyone would know knights, it'd be me. So who are you?"

"My name is Crona Tekoris, and I just came from the Millenial Fair." Her original train of thought came back to her. "Which reminds me, where is it?"

"Millenial fair? This's the year six hundred." The statement about her popping out of a blue hole in midair returned. "So, let me get this straight; you're from the future?"

At once her eyes widened. "Six hundred!" The truth finally struck her; she hadn't been sent to an alternate universe, she merely went backwards in time. The last minute statement she'd heard from a small kid in her own time resounded in her mind: "_Who cares if we won a war against a wizard hundreds of years ago?_" Currently, she did, because now, she was in the midst of it. "One second, why are you guys up here? I didn't see anybody."

"The queen was abducted," answered a knight. "We been searching everywhere. I suspect Magus be planning somethin' a dastard-like for her. Damn sorcerer." He spat on the ground.

It was precisely that instant Crona heard herself say something unbelievable: "Perhaps I could help you?"

The knight captain glanced at her. "You would offer your blade in service to the king? In the face of death?" A good swordsman seemed rare in this wartime. A good swords_wo_man was even rarer. Before she could retract her offer, he cooed, "the king is indebted to you, Dame Crona." Dame Crona, a female knight's title; she could grow to like that.

"You've looked everywhere for her?" Such seemed to be a standard question.

"Everywhere save the cathedral."

Somewhere had been overlooked; the idea seemed unusual. "Why haven't you looked there?" Crona's inquiry, while sounding somewhat simple to her, sounded completely unreal to them.

"Why would monsters attack the cathedral? Besides, nuns live there."

"Shouldn't you check anyway?"

"Wouldn't that show Magus's troops that we're desperate?" She analyzed his question; from the foe's perspective, searching a church where the enemy is absent could give that message, but by the same token it could be the supreme spot to install a base. Very few military minds would suspect a cathedral. She relayed this thought process to him. The knight captain considered it. One thought that astounded him was that he, a high-positioned military mind would overlook it. "You amaze even me, in that you quickly came up with an answer." A possible solution struck him. "Perhaps you could see if it is or not. Maybe two or three knights could go with you."

At the palace gates, the knight captain gave the secret code and was at once given entry. The two knights at the front took one look at Crona and stopped them. "Who is this with the truly inhuman hair?" he asked. "She's carrying a blade; is she a sorceress for Magus? Have you captured her?" The knight captain shook his head.

"Nope," he looked behind him at her. "She is here to pledge her service to the king."

The guard scoffed. "She any good?" He found himself staring at the smoothness of her legs. He shook his head to snap out of it. "I mean, she looks…rather lean…"

"Good enough to make Marcus wet himself," one admitted, and got a mild hit to the shoulder plate.

The guard motioned them on. Crona and the captain headed for the king's chambers, while the other knights went down stairs. The grand hall in which the king sat upon his throne had numerous decorations covered in gold and jewels, and had a very imposing demeanor. He cleared his throat and regarded his subjects. "Knight captain, who have you brought before me?" Both bowed. "I see a strange hair on this girl."

"She is Crona," he admitted. "We discovered her in the mountains where we searched for our queen. A brief scuffle between her and sir Marcus revealed her talent with the blade." He looked at her a moment. "Her hair is symbolic of where she hails from."

"And where is she from?"

"Guardia Kingdom," he struggled with the proper way to say it, "er…four hundred years from now." To this the king began to chuckle.

"Captain, how idiotic do you take me?" He began to wonder if years of combat wore on his loyal knight captain. "Do you have any sort of proof?"

The captain reluctantly shook his head. "I can make no claim to proof," he lamented. "But, my history paints a portrait of a man who has never lied, if I may say so, my liege." He looked up, awaiting some unspoken word, some gesture confirming his words. The king nodded and he continued. "I have several of my men who would attest to having seen her materialize from a portal."

The king turned to Crona herself, offering very silently a chance for her to explain. She had never previously explained herself to a king, so her nervousness came rather naturally. "Well, my lord…I…well…," Damn the strange language, she decided, best just to spill it. "I was taking part in a science experiment involving instantaneous movement from one point to another, when the machine malfunctioned. I was sent here, my lord." He took her words at face value, although he did not want to be taken for a fool.

"If you are in any way lying, dire consequences will be felt," he coughed a bit. "But for now, because we need all the help we can get, I'll take you into our kingdom " He recalled the words of the captain; if she indeed came from the future, perhaps she possessed some great knowledge that could help them. "Do you know the weakness of the great sorcerer Magus?"

She shook her head. "I recall him from history class, but other than that, I don't know much."

A momentary side glance betrayed his disappointment. Still, her talent with the blade could provide a useful instrument. He tapped his blade on each shoulder of Crona. "I proclaim you, Dame Crona." He grinned. "Now get up and tell me what news needs to be given."

The captain stood with Crona. "My lord, we believe the cathedral is at the heart of a scheme by Magus."

Contemplative of the information presented him, the king stroked his beard. It had occurred to him, in the darker periods of the war, that such could be a distinct possibility, but he had never the desire to believe it. If it proved to be the truth it meant the war had come dangerously close to home. As the leader of a kingdom of large groups of people he had no room for serious risks. "Crona, knight of Guardia," he ordered, "I command you to take two knights with you and inspect this danger. Godspeed."

It had to be at that instant that the door to the king's palace chamber burst open. A young man in white with blonde hair came rushing in. "Crona! Thank God you're safe!" Marle exclaimed.

The king stood, unable to understand. "What's the meaning of this! Who're you?"

Two knights, out of desire to protect the king, each grabbed an arm of Marle. "He came storming up, my lord! Saw him come out of a blue hole!"

The king came to the predictable realization. "Are you from the future as well, young man?"

Marle clenched his teeth inside his mouth. He had hoped not to reveal his true identity to Crona until later. "Y…Yes," he admitted. "I…am…the son of our current king of Guardia." He saw Crona become wide-eyed at the truth, and it crushed his spirit. "I am," he pulled out the coral pendant for proof, "Prince Nadius Marle Guardia." He could scarcely bear to glance at Crona for guilt of deception. "I'm…I am so sorry for lying. But you wouldn't have followed me if you'd known, right?"

Crona shook her head. "Wrong!" Marle perked up at the surprising response. "I judge people by action, not by blood." She had a superior concern. "How'd you get here?" As Marle's heart filled with joy, a familiar purple-haired girl stepped up.

"Your majesty," Lucca regarded the king, "We are from the future. By accident, a time gate has opened between our time and the past, which is this time." She presented a metal stick with the appearance of a flower. "Being a brilliant mind of science, I have devised this—the Gate Key—which allows us use of them."

With Lucca's level-headed scientific explanation he believed he finally had a grasp on the situation. "It is good to have these young minds and bodies on our side, young prince and knight girl." He looked at Lucca. "Even you, child of science, can be of immeasurable aid. Will you go to the cathedral and see if my wife is there, with Dame Crona?"

Marle readied his crossbow and Lucca her pellet gun as display of answer. "Yes, sir!" A unison cry was shouted.


	2. Chapter 2

Different Pathways  
by Moonraker One

CHAPTER TWO

The trio of Crona, Prince Nadius, and Lucca entered the cathedral, all three semi-nervous about the situation. Although they were in a church, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, they all got an overwhelming sense that something did not match. Hair on the back of Crona's neck stuck up straight, and that usually did not come from the cold air alone; she had an almost sixth sense about stuff of this nature. It did not come from what they saw, because the group of nuns scattered almost geometrically on various pews here and there seemed normal. The trio ignored the ones in the pews, who seemed to be sizing them up for some bizarre reason, and approached the one by the organ. There had to be a back area, they figured, and if anyone knew it'd be the one who stood ahead of the others.

"Dear me! You look like you could use some food and a place to...rest!"

Her hungry eyes immediately threw up a red flag in Crona's mind, because she could tell there were ill intentions, but it made no sense coming from a nun. Nadius, who heard footsteps approaching, saw a twinkle to his right and picked up an object. "Marle!" Crona announced, referring to the prince by his middle name, "what did you find?"

The prince knew at once what it was. "A hairpin," he informed them. "Guardia's royal crest. The queen must be here somewhere. Do you sisters know wh..." Midway through his sentence the nuns got into a formation. _Okay, what the hell is going on?_ he wondered.

His answer came quickly, as flame consumed the four nuns. What was left behind were four snake-like creatures, seemingly female although it was hard to tell, with venomous yellow eyes and horrific looking teeth. All three heroes at once readied their weapons. When the monsters closed into attack, a section of the ceiling fell down with a pow, and a large frog carrying an unruly looking broadsword landed athletically on his feet. With a single swipe he cut one of the monsters in two, suddenly shifting the advantage from four enemies to three heroes in reverse. Crona leapt high into the air, landing gingerly as a ballerina would on the tiptoes of her right foot, spinning aggressively with her blade outstretched. The motion caused several vicious lacerations on the bodies of two of the monsters, and cutting off the arms of one. A nasty cut on the one to her left she worsened with a single kick, causing death by blood loss to come much faster. The other one lunged for her neck and scraped her left arm, releasing a slight spurt of blood in its face. Screaming in pain, she impaled it right between the eyes with her katana. Sensing an opportunity, Nadius aimed his crossbow and fired a single arrow square on the forehead of the remaining monster. Lucca then aimed her pellet gun for the small hole created by her comrade's arrow, and with a single shot, deepened the hole with the pellet traveling out the other side of the creature's head.

The other three focused on Crona, clutching her bleeding left arm, desperately holding down to stop the bleeding. "Oh crap! He cut deep!" Lucca uttered. "Here, take your bandanna and use it to wrap the wound!"

"No need," Nadius stated. Putting his hand over the wound, he closed his eyes. A lavender-ish glow overcame him, spreading over his entire body, causing the site of the wound to glow brightly. All three stood amazed by the sight they were seeing. The light dying out, the prince took his hand off the wound. While not completely healed, it had lessened to a mild scratch, which would not bleed. Crona looked at him with a jawdrop expression, he grinned. "I call that the 'Aura' technique. Learned it from a wandering monk when I was only twelve. I can't do it nearly as powerfully as he could, but I've gotten better at it over the years."

"Art thou a magician?" the frog gasped, simply befuddled by the display of healing power. "Oh, excuseth me, I hath not yet introduced myself. I am...Frog. Thou looketh for the queen?"

"Yes," Crona responded plainly. "Will you help us?" Frog nodded. "Now, we just have to find a way to get deeper into this place..." Searching around, looking for a switch or a key, something that would open a door or gate that they couldn't at the moment see. Her line of sight rested on the organ itself. It had to be the answer; as it stood, only the organ seemed potentially the answer. She examined the piano. Three separate keys were stained yellowish compared to the white ones surrounding them. Playing them in order, an eerie sound filled the hall of the cathedral and a large rock slab of wall slid away to reveal a wooden door. Each member of the team put themselves into a deeper state of suspicious alertness as they prepared to be attacked as soon as they opened the door.

Pushing it open revealed several monsters down the hall. Staying as out of sight as possible, the team moved deeper into the hallways of the hidden part of the cathedral. The deeper part of the church had a distinct architecture: a large open area had two higher-up levels parallel to each other divided down the middle by a pathway leading to a back door. Each of the two higher-up levels had a pair of doors, one behind the other, and a carpeted staircase leading up. Per a suggestion by Nadius, the team divided into two separate halves: Crona and he headed up one set of stairs, Frog and Lucca up another. Opening up one door, Crona and the prince stepped into a room with three separate monsters.

"Hey! What's with the disguises? You don't need 'em here," one ugly-looking, rather fat monster said.

"My shift is coming soon," one smaller one said, chewing on some unidentifiable slab of meat. "I'm on break."

Crona took a chance to enter the conversation, desperately hiding her nervousness. "Meh, I'm still on my shift."

"Humans," a monster of the type the team fought in the beginning of the cathedral scoffed. "Disgusting creatures, think they run the world. Well, at least the last two were tasty!"

"Yeah," the fat one interjected. "Wish Yakra would let us eat the queen. Noooo. He gets her to himself." He considered the thought of his master. "Great guy, though. I'd follow him to hell."

"Well, I have to finish my shift off," Crona told them, exiting. "I have news I have to bring to Yakra's attention. He's in the back, right?" One of the monsters nodded. Shutting the door, Nadius and the punk-haired knight girl exchanged a glance. "At least now we know where they are," she whispered.

They strolled down the steps and up the hallway. Lucca and Frog rejoined the group, and they all squared off against another set of monsters. There were a group of four snake-like creatures, and some smaller, bipedal monsters behind them. "You guys, I have an idea," Crona uttered, clenching her sword as tightly as she could. "focus your attention on my targets." With a violent slash, the punk-haired warrior-ess delivered a blow so hard the shockwave carried through the air and powerfully blasted the group of snakes. The creatures injured moderately and off-balance, the purple-haired girl of science and the prince targeted the enemies with their weapons and fired, delivering fatal blows. Frog and Crona then took care of the smaller creatures behind them.

"There's a crapload of 'em!" Crona shouted, noticing several more snake-like creatures and some of the type they fought earlier near the door. Slashes and shots fired seemed to echo throughout the large open hallway, as well as blood-curdling monster screams. The once grand carpet stained with discolored monster blood, they stepped over carcasses, and entered the third part of the cathedral. Nadius wiped blood off his face which had splattered on him.

Proceeding up a flight of stairs, the group went to the right, as the hallway segmented into two opposing pathways, each leading to a separate staircase leading down. However, when Crona placed her right foot down on the first step, the steps collapsed inward turning the staircase into a slide. An ugly monster and a bat met them at the bottom. A few careful slashes later and some shots fired and another two were on the group's kill list. Through a door to the right of the staircase the group entered a small room with bats everywhere. One took notice of the group and the whole swarm came down at once. Avoiding getting bitten, arrows and pellets dealt deadly blows to some, tore wings off others, while Crona and Frog were able to cut a few up. Readying her weapon for an attack, the punk-haired girl tripped the switch on the wall. She heard a bang of something shifting, but nothing happened in the immediate vicinity. They headed onward through the door into another long hallway.

Three large monsters and a bat waited for them. The creatures' tough armor avoided some damage and allowed for Crona to be smacked halfway down the hallway. However, Nadius scored a lucky shot in the forehead of one and it fell like a fallen tree. Frog leapt onto one's chest and impaled it through the head, killing it immediately. Lucca fired at the head of the bat and connected, while the final of the large monsters drew its claws and swung for her. Crona immediately threw her sword which buried itself in the head of the monster. They walked on, examining for any hidden entrances or exits.

"There was a door here," Lucca noticed, feeling a section of the wall. "The switch must be back some ways." However, it was not long after she said that that she met yet another group of monsters. This was caused a little less trouble than the previous one. They went through another room of bats and up a flight of stairs, quietly past a sleeping monster. A door on the back wall of the initial hallway of the room they went through, and directly into a crowd of monsters.

Frog took the initiative, slashing powerfully through a large monster's tough armoring, dealing a fatal blow. He then had to deal with two other monsters closing in on him, one of which Nadius eliminated with a single fired arrow. Lucca fired several shots into the head and chest of the smaller monster near her, and Crona had a time cleaning up the remaining monsters with her blade. The fallen monsters' blood covering nearly everything touching the floor, Crona shook her head in disgust. "This is why I'll never become an undertaker," she joked.

Nadius shook his head. "Really." Stepping forward, he played the same notes on the organ in the room that were marked on the first organ in the main congregation hall. Sure enough, he heard the tell-tale bang of a door opening. They followed the same path they'd taken earlier to get to the section of wall on the back hallway where the door had been hidden. Through there it was a long hallway, several monsters that had to be killed (not to mention more blood), and a door leading to the back room. "Here we are, prepare yourself."

"Prepare yourself, Leene! This is it!" Crona kicked the door down in an amazing display of female strength. The chancellor looked up from threatening the queen to see a group of four warriors staring him down. "Ah, so you've come to save the queen!" He stepped out from behind the desk. "You will now see my true power! TRANSFORM!" Lightning surged upwards from the floor and overcame him all at once. Light flashing throughout the room he burst from underneath his phony disguise, a large, horned monster easily bigger than anything they'd fought, who looked like a giant beetle with rocky, grayish yellow skin and a nasty set of fangs.

"Watch OUT!" Nadius shouted, leaping aside needles fired from several holes that opened up in the back of Yakra. His cry came in time for the other members to dodge and still have time to avoid a charge from the beast. Unfortunately, Lucca was caught off guard by the charge and got knocked into the wall. Frog and Crona clutched their blades and dashed straight into Yakra and slashed him in an X formation, drawing blood from two nasty gashes up his back. A monstrous screech came from the huge creature as he prepared to charge again. It had been a fake, however, as he leapt into the air with intent to come down on top of Crona. The girl leapt nimbly out of the way, but got slammed by the side of his large body and thrown into the wall. Nadius used his aura to partially heal Crona, but himself got bashed by Yakra's side and launched into the wall. Lucca fired a pellet at the head of the beast to distract him. Frog then deepened one of the slashes he made earlier.

"SMILE!" Crona leapt onto the neck of Yakra, and with a shout, drove her sword straight through his head. The beast roared and tumbled, collapsing onto its back, finally resting dead. The group took a long breath as the threat had been averted. The queen opened up the chest in which the real chancellor had been imprisoned.

"That blasted Yakra! He locked me in there! Oh, queen! As you can see, I am undamaged!" Crona shot him a glance behind his back. _I put my life on the line to save your neck, you ungrateful...!_ she thought. The group then made it back to the castle, with queen in tow.

"Oh, thank you, Dame Crona and your friends! You have saved my wife, the Queen!" The king turned to his wife, who had just been saved, and they embraced. "I cannot ever thank you enough, travelers from the future! You may come and go as you please from now on!"

"And thank you, Frog, for coming to save me!" Leene hugged the amphibian warrior.

"I hath merely served my purpose, my lady," he explained. "I shall stayeth here in the castle in case more feinds doth come." He turned to his comrades. "Dame Crona! My friends! You all hath been great allies! For no greater honor than to fight with you could I asketh!"

"Was nice to fight with you too," Crona said. "Let's just get home. I'm tired!"

They all left the palace, smiles on their faces, and headed back towards the hillside where their time adventure had begun. Approaching the small blue orb that served as the gate, they all braced themselves as Lucca touched the edge with her gate key, and the orb expanded and sucked them in. The familiar time stream passed over them as they were ejected back into their own time.

"Thank God that's over," Lucca said, relieved. "Crona, take the prince home. After all, he must be tired after all of this."

"You're kidding right?" Nadius chuckled. "That's been the most fun I've had since, well, ever! Fighting and sword battles and the threat of dying, I mean...wow!"

"Well, let's get you home, killer!" The two walked lockstep back to the castle. Stepping into the castle, the prince and Crona were greeted by the guards and the modern chancellor.

"Prince Nadius! Thank God you're okay! We had troops searching for you!" His gaze met with Crona, and his eyes squinted in anger. "You! You're the one who tried to overthrow our kingdom! You tried to seduce our honorable prince!"

Crona looked at him like he had gone insane. "What are you talking about? I did no such thing!"

Nadius interjected. "Truly, what _are_ you talking about? I just..."

The chancellor seemed to grow angrier. "See? You even confused him! Guards! Arrest this girl!" Troops surrounded Crona with weapons drawn.

Nadius clenched his fists in anger. "STOP IT NOW!" Immediately the troops bowed. "What are you doing, chancellor? Are you insane? I followed her because she was fun to hang out with. There was never any attempt to seduce me! We never even hugged!"

"I refuse to believe this!" The chancellor bellowed. "He's been brainwashed! Troops! Arrest her!"

The king stepped forward. "Nadius! Why did you venture off with a common temptress?"

The prince seemed mystified. "_Common temptress_? What is so wrong with hanging out with a girl my age?"

"She tried to seduce you!"

"She did no such thing! Father, listen to reason. I am more physically powerful than she is. Don't you think that if she tried to do anything out of the ordinary, that I'd be able to avoid it?"

The king rolled his eyes. _The rashness of youth,_ he knew. "Let the courts decide."

As Crona found herself dragged by several armed men, Nadius followed close behind. "Crona! I'm sorry this had to happen!"

_Not as sorry as I AM,_ she thought.

The court found itself rapidly drawn into session, with a judge in good standing with the kingdom presiding over, and Pierre as Crona's lawyer. The chancellor, naturally, provided prosecution. Prosecution did not hesitate to begin. "We're here to decide the fate of one Crona Tekoris, resident of Guardia. She has been accused of attempting to seduce the prince in order to overthrow the king! What shall we do as punishment? Fire? Hanging? Shall we employ the guillotine? You shall decide. Here are the facts as we know them to be: The prince, followed you to Lucca's little sideshow, and you both disappeared! I believe that was an attempt to take the prince to a location where you could seduce and then hold him for ransom! A kidnapping, in effect!"

"I don't have any clue what you're talking about! It didn't happen that way!"

The chancellor banged both fists on the podium behind which the accused stood. "Oh really? Then who started this mess?"

Crona could not lie. "If I'd been watching where I was going, I wouldn't have run into the prince. I guess I did."

"AHA! Just as I suspected! And furthermore, I have facts which throw your character into question!"

Pierre did not hesitate. "Objection! Her character is merely speculation and is irrelevant to the actual events that occurred!"

The judge seemed impressed. "Care to respond, chancellor?"

The chancellor grinned, having expected this defense response. "Her character is at the heart of this case!" He turned to Crona. "There was a little girl who had lost her kitten. Did you respond to her?"

Crona looked confused. "Little girl? Cat? I didn't even see her!"

"That's what she said! Even though _she_ saw _you_, you didn't respond to her! Furthermore, when the prince dropped his pendant, you picked it up, and refused to give it back to him!"

"That was just a joke! Besides, he even told me that I could keep it on until he needed it back!"

"Because you told him you would give him...a little something...in return, huh?"

Crona almost stood back, insulted. "I am not a common floozy that flirts with any man!"

The chancellor almost smiled; she cornered herself, and he would deal the death blow. "Oh...really." he said, slow and sarcastically for maximum effect. He presented a magazine. "Can you...identify this?"

It was the magazine that Lucca had been looking at, with pictures of the royal soldiers posing. _Oh, crap,_ Crona thought, beginning to sweat. She knew at once where this was headed. "I...my friend Lucca and I were looking at that. It is a..."

"It is a magazine of pictures of royal soldiers posing for pictures in their boxer shorts only! Do you recall what you said?" He snapped his fingers. A woman, who had been standing near them at the Lucca's display, entered.

"She said, looking at a picture of one of them, 'He might be good with some whipped cream.' Then she said..."

"Okay. I don't need you anymore." Waving his hand, she left. He approached the jury. "Ladies and Gentlemen, if the evidence I have presented you doesn't present the true Crona Tekoris, a slut who will seduce any man-even ones that she has never met-to get what she wants, be it jewelry, power, or just personal pleasure, I don't know what will. You have NO CHOICE but to make the right decision and forever eliminate a grave threat to the security of our kingdom and the physical and psychological well being of our prince! Declare her guilty! It is your duty as citizens of Guardia!" He stepped back, finished.

Pierre stepped up. "Ladies and Gentlemen, what does Crona's looking at a magazine have to do with the matters at hand? Is it evil for a young woman to appreciate a well-defined man? Are natural instincts to be reviled? And the Prince has never been one to rebel or make stupid mistakes about his sexual self like many of his peers! Who's to say that he didn't just decide to go with her? What does a little girl and a cat have to do with the matters at hand? Our chancellor is merely grasping at straws because he knows that my client is no common trash of society! How many of you have never had 'thoughts' or 'feelings' for another human being? Who are we to say that lust is wrong? And who can say that Crona attempted to seduce our prince? Do we really underestimate him so much to think he cannot choose to live his life his own way? Are we to raise him? No. So you have a duty to declare her innocent because she did nothing wrong. In fact, Nadius willingly decided to go with her!"

The judge banged his gavel. "Order. Now, jury, you shall decide." One by one, the jurors came up.

"Guilty."

"Guilty."

"Guilty." Crona's heart sank.

One stepped up, and shot a empathetic look, of sorrow at her. "Not guilty."

"Not guilty."

One stepped up and shook his head. "Not guilty."

Crona gripped the bench tightly; her fate hung on the last juror. He approached the judge.

"Guilty...but I must recommend mercy on her!"

The judge contemplated a moment. "Crona, you have been found guilty. Because of a recommendation of mercy I will forgo the death penalty and sentence you to ten years imprisonment! Adjourned!" With a bang of his gavel it had been complete.

The chancellor enjoyed his opportunity. "Take her away!"

The Prince came dashing up. "Now wait just a minute! This is a travesty of justice!"

"Nadius, stop. This is a court proceeding. We must allow due process of law."

"Father! She did NOTHING WRONG! I went with her to begin with!"

The king shook his head. "You pick up bizarre ideas outside!"

"Bizarre ideas? It's called 'common sense!'"

As Crona was dragged on, tears streaming down her face, she contemplated what had happened. She had been disgraced, shamed, made a public display in front of everyone, and finally, sentenced. It was Nadius's fault, she decided. He hadn't defended her. He should have done more. He was to blame.

She shook her head. No. He had nothing to do with it. It had been the chancellor who had been against her from the get-go. She found herself soon within the dungeon. The chancellor presented her to the supervisor. "She has been found guilty and her sentence of execution is to be conducted in three days. Do not let her out of sight!"

Crona practically shot up. "EXECUTION! I WAS GIVEN MERCY!"

A soldier knocked her out with the broad side of his blade.

"Ahem, the paperwork was likely just backed up. Don't let her out of sight, supervisor!"

"Understood!"

Crona woke up, her vision blurry and her head aching. Standing up, she found herself in a cell. _Darn, found guilty and now, to be executed, I...what the hell is this?_ She fumbled in her pocket. The pendant! In all the commotion, no one had noticed that she had Nadius's pendant in her pocket and never gave it back! She turned her back to the guards so she could examine it and not be seen. No sooner did her gaze focus on the center than a brilliant flash nearly blind her. When her vision returned she was in the middle of a field.

"Crona? What the hell is going on?"

Crona looked to her left. "Lucca? Marle? How did you get here? Where are we?"

Nadius shook his head. "We broke into the dungeon to rescue you, next thing we know, we're being sucked through a time stream! Which is bizarre, because I never even saw a gate!"

Suddenly the ground rumbled. Everything was thrown off balance as another violent shake came before a huge eruption burst from underground, tearing a huge hole in the Earth. From it a massive spiked meteor with what looked to be a mouth rose. Everyone in sight focused on it. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!" The huge meteor fired yellow, superhot bursts of energy from the spikes. A man, diving for cover from the raining death balls, collided with Crona. The pendant then shimmered, and the three of them and the man who had run into Crona all were thrown into another time stream.

"AAAAaaaaahhhhh...whoof!"

The four landed on what looked to be a platform, surrounded by a whole lot of empty blackness. "Where are we..." Crona looked at the man. "Who are you?"

The man, shaking off the shock, didn't know how to respond. "My name's John, but what the hell's going on?"

Crona shook her head. "Hell if I know. We're from Guardia Kingdom, about 1000 A.D. Where were we when we met you?"

"One thousand A.D.? I come from 1999 A.D.! What was that thing?"

"Lavos." The three turned.

The old man, leaning against a light post looked at them from underneath his hat. "You are at the end of time, what you saw in 1999 was Lavos, a being with unimaginable power. In that year he destroyed the world."

The group of four approached the old man. "End of time?" Nadius inquired.

"You are a group of four. No group larger than three can ever pass through a time stream without ending up here, where all streams connect."

Crona was too young for this crap, she decided.


	3. Chapter 3

Different Pathways  
by Moonraker One

A/N: I'm terribly sorry about this story being discontinued for so long. I was in the middle of it, had a nice momentum going, then had a major life altering event (which I'd like NOT to get into) hit me like a bombshell. I apologize to all my fans.

CHAPTER THREE

Crona scratched the back of her head, then cleared her throat, looking at the old man. "So, let me digest this a little bit at a time," she made clear. "One, the time portal we went through FIRST, took us to the year nineteen ninety-nine. Two, a being known as 'Lavos' is directly responsible for the end of the world, that's the creature we saw. Three, no more than three can travel through time. I can possibly—through a severe stretch of my suspension of disbelief—come to grasp the first two. Please explain the third point."

The old man looked at her, gathering his thoughts, looking a lot similar to a professor donating his knowledge. "You see, when you are physically moving through the timestream—that multi-colored plane of existence that seems to stretch infinitely in all directions—your energy puts a physical strain on the reality you're in. When you are in a party greater than three, the strain becomes too great and the stream deposits you into a location that has the fewest energy resistances possible; here at the end of time."

Crona twirled her pinky back and forth in one of her ears; the old man picked up the hint.

"Oh," he corrected himself. "Basically you can't travel through time if there's more than three of you; the timestream can't handle the stress." Crona smiled, she never was much for science speak. "But that's not important, young time travelers; what is important is this. The monster you saw, Lavos, was an alien parasite from space that fed off the energy contained within your planet since very long ago. Manipulating evolution to his own ends, he gained power, then finally annihilated the world you came from in the year 1999 A.D.. Unfortunately, the problem doesn't end there. Lavos creates spawns of himself which will migrate to other worlds and propagate this cycle of death and worldly destruction. I've met not a single group of time travelers that could potentially save the world."

"WOAH woah woah woah," Crona interrupted. "I don't believe you're actually hinting what you're hinting at."

Nadius interjected. "Yes, sir, I must agree with her. Although we saved Queen Leene back in the year 600, we aren't possibly a threat for that horrific terror we saw! Besides, the only possible way we _might_ even have a hope of surviving such an occurrence is if we had magic of some degree of power equal to his."

Lucca however, took it upon herself to be the voice of honor. "Now waitaminute, you guys, I'm sure in the grand scheme of things there's somewhere we can get magic, and get strong enough to defeat this Lavos monster! I refuse to accept that the world is coming to an end and we know all about it and can't do a damn thing!"

The old man smiled. "Well, my young time travelers, this is where I come in." He turned his head somewhat. "Spekkio! SPEKKIO! I got some for ya!" He focused his attention back on his new friends. "Go into the room behind you."

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Crona fired back as she and her friends went into the back room. The door creaked open and the group walked in. They saw a room similar to the one they just came from, except that it had only one thing in it. A white-furred monkey-like creature, who seemed to regard the group with hopeful curiosity. She walked in a circle around the creature. He noticed her analyzing him.

"Hey! What're you lookin' at?" he spoke, startling the group. "Don't judge a book by it's cover. I'm Spekkio, and I'm the master of war! I've seen all kinds of battles from here. Tell me, how do I look to you?"

Nadius scratched his head. "You look like a fine primate specimen..."

Crona interrupted him. "You look really weak!"

The ape-like creature grinned. "I see. I change depending on what you look like. If you're strong, I look strong; if you're weak, I look weak." Nadius could practically see Crona fuming.

"Calm down, Crona," he whispered in her ear.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" she shouted in a whisper.

"You are strong of will!" interjected the creature. "That's why the old one let you through. The most important thing there is is magic. In fact, there once existed a kingdom of magic. Everyone there could use it! But in time, people began to abuse their powers. In fact, it got so bad that only wizards could use it. Eventually, magic was lost to history. However, I know what you guys are here for, and if you are wanting to ever have a hope of beating Lavos, you're going to need the magic I'm gonna give you." He regarded Crona. "Wow! Is that hair real! Cool. You, girl, your spirit reminds me of a storm. So what would be more fitting for you than lightning?" He regarded Nadius. "You are somewhat confused about a number of things. I think the best thing for you would be water." He regarded Lucca. "You are quite the spunky one. I say you should definitely be fire." And finally, he regarded John. "You...you're from the apocalyptic period. I can tell your personality is a bit unusual. I'd say the best magic for you would be shadow." He did somewhat a dance. "Ipso facto meeny moe, MAGICO!"

Each member of the team felt an aura surrounding them. Invisible waves in the air suddenly became visible to them. Caressing their bodies like gentle feathers, they were enveloped in their own particular magic. A great series of lightning bolts shot for a short distance off of Crona's body. Her hair waved wildly like grain as streaks of electricity fired through them. Sheets of water flowed around Nadius. He moved the sheets with his hands, disturbing them gently. The cool temperature he felt as they circled. Lucca's skin and body were surrounded by flame, dancing brightly in the air. They did not burn her, but rather, they danced between her fingers and her locks of hair. The glow of her frame lit up the dark nothingness that was the end of time. John, the mysterious young man from 1999, found the darkness creeping up on him like a formless ghost. He saw the black as it wiggled like a worm over his body and around him. Each of them felt a distinct empowerment.

Crona looked at her hands as the bolts of lightning danced on her palms according to her will. "Wow!" She made designs in the air using her magic. "This would have come in handy quite a bit ago. Especially in school." Nadius watched as the cold air within his palm looked like dancing mist, which occasionally solidified and crystal-like snow descended to his skin. Each member analyzed their various powers with amazement.

"Now! Fortified with magic, want to try it out?" Spekkio inquired.

"Uh, how about...no," Crona replied. "Thanks anyway!" They left Spekkio's chamber.

"Hey," the old man called out. The group huddled around him. "Well, long ago, all enjoyed such powers. I know you're eager to go ripping back and forth through time, let me give you some advice: you might want to go back to 1000 A.D. First."

"Thank you," Crona stated. "So, who of us is going to stay here?"

"Well, you guys, I think I'll stay here," John suggested.

Crona looked at him. "You sure?"

He nodded. "I'm sure. You guys are from that era. Just come back here when you need me."

The crew readied their weapons. "Are we ready to save the world?"

Crona's question brought their mission to their minds. None of them knew for sure, but they solidified their wills as much as possible.


End file.
